NZ English for Newcomers
There are as many ways of speaking English as there are people who speak it. Because we aim to be understood by our listeners we must take care to speak clearly, especially to the many new New Zealanders who are struggling with English. Here are some ways to so this:
- Slow the rate of speaking
- Use shorter groups of words
- Watch the listener and check you are being understood
- Sound ‘t’ especially at the end of words e.g. couldn’t, that,
- Take care with:
- culture, not ‘colture’
- ask, not ‘aks’
- something, not ‘somethink’
- known, not ‘knowen’
- Make eye contact and let the listener see your face as you speak.
- Appreciate the effort that new New Zealanders make to understand English
